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Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, that is very much in the noble Lord’s hands. We must just ensure that we debate it when we reach it. Speaking for myself, I find that it is quite easy to lose track of what we are doing at this stage of a Bill. To respond to what I take to be the probing amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, I agree with everything that he said about access to justice. The noble Lord will know that I have responsibility within the Ministry of Justice for legal aid, which can perhaps be described as a friendly challenge at the moment. Clearly, from my point of view, I am concerned to ensure that there is provision throughout the country. I understand the points that he makes about rural areas. I have no doubt that we will have another opportunity to discuss legal aid, but I want the noble Lord to understand that I sympathise with his points. There is no question but that an integral element of access to justice is the availability of services, not just in theory but in practice. I reassure the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, that the effect on providers is covered by our access to justice amendment. It does not need separate provision. The effect on existing provision will need to be taken into account, for the sake not just of providers but of their clients and the need for access to justice. I am confident that the vast majority of applications will lead to improvement in these areas, improving access to justice as a result. The amendments that we are making to Clause 83 reinforce this by signalling the importance of access to justice in the alternative business structure context. I hope that that reassures the noble Lord.